Chapter 222: Senior Sister

In the mottled moonlight of the forest, Ning Changjiu stood beside a tree whose petals had all fallen, his gaze passing through the forks of the branches to the moon in the sky.

In the vast and wild South Desolation, strange roars often echoed.

All life here had been corrupted by the South Desolation, growing in bizarre ways. Even the flowers on the mountain mist, appearing like splendid waves, were in fact just the withered, brilliant yellow and purple wrist-snake leaves of a single season.

Perhaps because Ning Changjiu bore some authority, the corruption of the South Desolation could not affect him in the slightest.

What surprised him was that Lu Jiajia, despite being only in the Purple Courtyard realm, had also been in the South Desolation for two years, completely unharmed.

Like those lyricists, he looked at the moon with doubts in his heart, seeking answers.

Then the moon truly gave him an answer.

The chirping of crickets in the forest abruptly ceased.

The rustling of leaves vanished along with the sound of the wind.

Not only that, the clouds flowing in the sky, the moon glimmering by the forest edge, and the distant figure's fluttering white robes and dark hair, all froze simultaneously.

This scene came too suddenly; Ning Changjiu felt as if his joints were filled with ice shards, rendering him immobile.

"Silence!"

These two words suddenly appeared in Ning Changjiu's mind, yet for a moment, he couldn't recall their origin.

Then, a voice sounded behind him.

It was clearly a voice, yet it remained so quiet, as still as congealed clouds and shadows.

"Junior brother."

In that quiet voice, Ning Changjiu felt his body could move freely again.

He turned around in this world that seemed frozen, and saw a woman slowly walking through the forest.

The woman wore a light cyan Taoist robe adorned with moon-white lotus flowers. She stepped silently over withered leaves, her skin like jade, her long hair like ink, and the whisk hanging by her arm resembled a soft beam of moonlight.

Her entire being exuded tranquility.

She walked through the frozen world without a hint of incongruity.

Another door of memory was forcefully opened.

"Mas..." Ning Changjiu almost blurted out, but as soon as the first syllable left his lips, he immediately realized his mistake.

The world was vast. If his Senior Sister had found him, it meant his Master had also found him.

He shouldn't have revealed his identity so rashly.

"Who... who sent you?" Ning Changjiu stopped himself mid-sentence, displaying an expression as if facing a formidable enemy.

"My junior brother is truly adorable," the Senior Sister said with a faint smile.

"Who is your junior brother?" Ning Changjiu felt incredibly defiant; in his previous life, he would never have dared to speak to his Senior Sister like this.

The Senior Sister was unconcerned, smiling softly: "Junior brother, I also really want to know what happened ten years from now."

"Ten years from now?" Ning Changjiu feigned confusion.

The Senior Sister said, "You should know that the time of 'Silence' is limited."

The woman in the light cyan Taoist robe twirled the whisk she held, and said, "If junior brother truly wishes to chat, I can certainly stay with you a bit longer."

Ning Changjiu looked at his Senior Sister's faintly smiling face, sighing inwardly. He knew he couldn't hide anything from his Master.

He composed himself and asked, "Has Master not told you?"

The Senior Sister replied, "Master herself may not know. She told me that the reversal of time was a last resort, and that perhaps you are the only one truly awake in this entire world."

Ning Changjiu's heart tightened. He asked, "Were many of the events in the Imperial City of Zhao not her arrangements?"

The Senior Sister smiled faintly, "When destiny crosses a boundary, it sounds like fate."

Ning Changjiu knew his Senior Sister wouldn't lie to him, but he was still perplexed: "Since I woke up at sixteen, was everything I've experienced... a coincidence?"

The Senior Sister nodded gently: "If Master has concealed nothing from me, then yes, it was a coincidence."

Ning Changjiu felt a chill in his heart. In the past, he dared to take many risks, partly believing that if Master was behind everything, she wouldn't let him die before he turned twenty-eight. Now, recalling those actions that courted death, he realized he had been dancing on a knife's edge.

Ning Changjiu dismissed these thoughts. He asked the question that concerned him most: "Senior Sister, why have you come to find me now?"

The Senior Sister lifted her sleeve; the clear blue fabric slipped down, revealing a long, slender, snow-white hand. She gently curved her index and middle fingers, and smiled, "I've come to give my junior brother a flick on the forehead."

Ning Changjiu understood. He said, "I've already condensed my innate spirit; I don't need to open my spiritual apertures anymore."

The Senior Sister smiled, "Junior brother's talent is indeed exceptional, but it's still not enough."

As she spoke, the sleeve of her other arm also dropped, and a finger extended, pointing towards Ning Changjiu's glabella.

This finger seemed like the killing sword from the Heavenly Mandate Sword Sutra, light as a cloud and gentle as the wind, devoid of any perceptible aura. By the time he noticed, it had already reached his glabella.

A small red mole suddenly flashed on the Senior Sister's glabella.

"Sin Lord?" The Senior Sister, sensing a certain aura in his Qi Sea, let out a soft sound of surprise.

Ning Changjiu couldn't hear her words.

His ears were silent.

The silent world was like an eggshell about to crack, with a colossal beast lurking within, capable of breaking through ocean tides.

A moment later, the Senior Sister withdrew her finger, and then gave him a flick on the forehead.

Ning Changjiu cried out in pain, clutching his forehead. A distinct red mark was visible on his forehead.

The pain from this flick was no less than the heart-piercing strike of the Sin Lord's lightning spear.

But the pain came quickly and dissipated just as fast.

Ning Changjiu examined his Sea of Consciousness, finding that all the previously indigestible insights had completely melted away, becoming nourishment for his Sea of Consciousness. Even the part from the Sin Lord disintegrated within his Sea of Consciousness, sinking into its depths.

Heaven and Earth remained silent in "Silence."

Thus, the storm within his Sea of Consciousness appeared particularly intense.

It was a long while before he finally uncovered his head.

"Thank you, Senior Sister..." Ning Changjiu let out a sigh of relief.

The Senior Sister said, "I have erased the Black Feather Mark left by the Sin Lord in your body. The Sin Lord and many other lords are all our enemies. I didn't expect you to have faced one of them so early... But this is also good; you are indeed worthy of being a disciple of the Monastery."

Ning Changjiu frowned, "Lords? Enemies?"

The Senior Sister offered no further explanation. With one hand resting on her sleeve, she gently extended the other into the night wind, as if catching a falling leaf.

But what she held between her fingers was not a leaf, but a flame.

The firelight illuminated the Senior Sister's clear, sacred, and serene eyes.

Ning Changjiu looked at his Senior Sister's tranquil eyes, thinking to himself, *Is this our first meeting? Does she want to leave a good impression on her junior brother? But I've lived through the first life, Senior Sister; you're no serene beauty, you're clearly a blood-soaked Asura...*

Of course, like his other senior and junior disciples in the Monastery, he only dared to keep these thoughts to himself.

The Senior Sister pinched the flame, and with a slight tremor of her fingers, the fire dissipated, transforming into a letter.

Ning Changjiu recognized it at first glance.

"Is this... a marriage contract?"

"Yes, it's your marriage contract with Zhao Xiang'er," the Senior Sister said. "There are two copies of this contract: one with Zhao Xiang'er, and one here with you."

"But I'm long past sixteen," Ning Changjiu said.

The Senior Sister said, "As long as the marriage contract exists, the engagement remains... Haha, in truth, it seems there's no difference whether this contract exists or not now. But for our Monastery's first marriage, shouldn't it be proper and legitimate?"

"Thank you, Senior Sister," Ning Changjiu took the marriage contract. The fiery light touched his fingers, but he felt no heat.

The form and content of the marriage contract were identical to Zhao Xiang'er's copy.

Ning Changjiu looked at the marriage contract, his heart filled with emotion.

The Senior Sister's gaze pierced through the forest, looking towards the snow-white figure by the distant cliff.

"Is that my junior sister-in-law?" the Senior Sister asked, though she clearly knew.

"Uh... yes, but it's not Zhao Xiang'er."

"Heh, do you need me to go fetch you another marriage contract?"

Without waiting for Ning Changjiu's reply, the Senior Sister walked towards her.

Ning Changjiu quickly followed.

The Senior Sister reached Lu Jiajia's side.

At this moment, Lu Jiajia was like a frozen beauty. Her eyes were still open, holding moonlight within them, and starlight draped over her shoulders. Her slender and graceful figure was wrapped in white robes.

"Very beautiful, not like an ordinary mortal. Her temperament and charm are quite similar to Master's," the Senior Sister said, looking at Lu Jiajia. "Her Sword Body is still a bit lacking. Don't delay in body tempering and sword forging in the future. If you have any questions, you can ask Fourth Junior Sister."

This was already a very high compliment.

When Ning Changjiu heard the words "body tempering and sword forging," his heart skipped a beat. He looked up and met his Senior Sister's serene gaze.

He quickly realized he had misunderstood. This act was indeed called "body tempering and sword forging" in the cultivation world; he had merely attributed a special meaning to it himself...

Ning Changjiu said with an unblinking expression, "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister. I won't slack off."

The Senior Sister said, "She has the Sin Lord's feather on her."

Ning Changjiu was startled and quickly looked at her.

The Senior Sister extended her hand, reaching through Lu Jiajia's black hair, and pulled a dark feather from her inky locks. She tucked the black feather into her sleeve, then extracted a wisp of red thread from Ning Changjiu's marriage contract and embedded it in Lu Jiajia's hair.

"Before, she was protected from corruption in the South Desolation by the black feather; this Vermilion Bird feather-silk has the same effect." The Senior Sister looked at the beautiful woman sitting quietly by the cliff, then suddenly turned with a faint smile and said: "Zhang Jiu, you must think carefully. No matter how beautiful or astonishingly talented a mortal woman may be, she may not be able to keep up with your pace. Regardless of your choice, the path you will walk is the Grand Dao. Its ruggedness and hardships, I don't need to explain, do I?"

Ning Changjiu was silent for a long time. He looked up, gazing calmly into his Senior Sister's eyes, and said solemnly, "My name is Ning Changjiu."

The Senior Sister hummed faintly in response.

Ning Changjiu continued, "In this life, I want to live my own way, not follow Master's arrangements. If I have ten more years to live, I will spend those ten years with her. If I have one more day, I will watch the last sunrise and sunset with her."

The Senior Sister stopped, turned, and asked with a smile, "Why not say a hundred or a thousand years?"

Ning Changjiu pressed his lips together, remaining silent. He knew his life had only ten years left.

"Because you're afraid," the Senior Sister gave her answer. "You know you can't give her a hundred or a thousand years, just as Master exhausted everything to grant the world immortality... I never found mortal love to be insignificant, so I believe that when you wish to grant her immortality, you will surely return to the Monastery."

Ning Changjiu stood still, as if frozen together with heaven and earth.

His Senior Sister's words hit a nerve.

He loved Lu Jiajia, and he was naturally unwilling for this love to last only ten years.

"Shen Yu!"

As the Senior Sister was about to step onto the moon and depart, Ning Changjiu called out to her.

Ning Changjiu wasn't sure if this was her real name or a Daoist title.

But it was the name he knew for his Senior Sister.

The Senior Sister stopped: "What is it?"

"Why did Master want to kill me?" Ning Changjiu finally asked.

The Senior Sister remained silent. A moment later, she softly asked, "Was that the end of your previous life?"

Ning Changjiu did not answer.

The Senior Sister said, "I don't know. If you want to know the reason, you'll probably have to ask Master yourself."

Ning Changjiu asked, "If I want to return to the Monastery, how should I do it?"

The Senior Sister said, "Master does not allow me to fetch you, and in the entire mortal realm, only one person knows the way to the Monastery."

"Who?"

"Evil."

"Evil?" Ning Changjiu was puzzled. "Where is he?"

The Senior Sister said, "He is in the most chaotic place in the Central Land. He can even answer some things that even I don't know."

"This is all I will say. It's not that I don't want to guide you more, but Master doesn't wish to interfere with you too much before the next plan is set. From now on, you can do whatever you wish; no one will disturb you."

The Senior Sister's words were quiet from beginning to end, requiring careful listening to hear them clearly.

Her voice gradually faded.

Clouds passed the moon, and light and shadow shifted on her white robes.

Wind swept through the forest, sounding like rain.

The world, after 'Silence', began to flow again.

The light in Lu Jiajia's eyes gradually became lively.

Ning Changjiu suddenly hugged her from behind.

"What are you doing?!" Lu Jiajia gasped softly.

Ning Changjiu had clearly been pacing in the forest. How had he suddenly appeared behind her?

What kind of unorthodox magic was this?

Her soft body was suddenly embraced.

Ning Changjiu remembered his previous conversation with his Senior Sister. He sighed, "Jiajia, I suddenly understand those debauched emperors of collapsing dynasties."

"Hmm?" Lu Jiajia's struggling body paused slightly. She hummed in confusion and said, "What absurd theories are you spouting now?"

Knowing that a dynasty had accumulated ills for generations, with empty treasuries, its people suffering, and the entire court filled with corrupt officials, none of whom were useful, the dangers of internal strife and external threats were too numerous to recount. The young emperor originally intended to govern diligently, turn the tide, and leave his name in history. But then, a lotus-like, pure white-robed immortal appeared in the palace... *Forget it,* he thought. *This dynasty will probably collapse in ten years at most. Even if I try everything, I might not save it. And even if I did save it, my white-robed concubine and I would both be old, having wasted our prime years. Why not enjoy daily music and dance? Trading ten years of indulgence for eternal infamy after death seems perfectly fine. After all, who cares about the deluge once they're gone?*

Ning Changjiu involuntarily imagined himself as a monarch of a dying dynasty.

In his arms was the white-robed concubine, the most beautiful and beloved of the three thousand beauties in his harem.

Thinking this, he teased: "You are my concubine. Tonight, I've chosen you. Serve me obediently, or you'll be banished to the cold palace."

Lu Jiajia pressed down his restless hands, saying angrily and shyly, "What's wrong with you today?"

"Sick? Are you an imperial physician now?"

"If you're really sick, I'll give you acupuncture with my sword."

"Acupuncture? Who's giving whom acupuncture, exactly?"

"Yours... does indeed resemble acupuncture, actually."

The two played around for a while, then both lay down on the ground.

Ning Changjiu looked at her beautiful, somewhat fierce, immortal-like face. His heart grew increasingly soft. He thought, *If I bear the eternal infamy of a debauched monarch, wouldn't my concubine become the demoness who ruined the nation and its people? How could I let her bear such a reputation?*

"Jiajia."

"Hm?"

Ning Changjiu suddenly said, "I will surely restore an eternal empire for you!"

"..." Lu Jiajia felt an urge to hit him.

She had waited two years, only to get back an idiot?

"If you keep spouting nonsense, I might just disrespect my teacher and betray my ancestors," Lu Jiajia threatened.

Ning Changjiu also laughed: "Are you sure?"

Lu Jiajia glared at him, thinking, *It's been almost half a month, when have you ever won when we sparred? And you dare to be so stubborn? If I weren't indulging you, you wouldn't have any chance to tease me!*

Ning Changjiu, meanwhile, was feeling everything within him flowing smoothly after the Senior Sister's flick.

All the rough edges of his past Daoist techniques and sword arts had been smoothed out one after another. The fractures in his Asura physique were fully mended. Although still far from his peak, they were no longer a hindrance. All the profound, transcendent experiences from Boundary City had also transformed into genuine insights.

As the moonlight began to flow again earlier, he had naturally stepped into the third floor of the Purple Courtyard.

Lu Jiajia met his gaze, assuming he was about to concede again.

Ning Changjiu, however, chuckled, "If you lose later, don't cry when we're 'forging swords,' okay?"

Lu Jiajia scoffed, "Master is truly getting more and more arrogant, isn't he?"

Ning Changjiu said, "How about a wager?"

"What are we betting on?"

"If I win, for the next three years, you must obey me without question."

"Three years?" Of course, Lu Jiajia wouldn't agree. She knew Ning Changjiu had many tricks and was hard to guard against.

"Hmm... one month!"

"Seven days." Lu Jiajia regretted it a little after speaking.

"Deal!" As expected, Ning Changjiu immediately agreed.

Ning Changjiu didn't give her a chance to ask, "What if you lose?" He immediately extended his finger and said, "Let's begin."

Lu Jiajia calmly extended her finger.

Sword intent swirled around their fingertips.

The two slowly advanced, moving closer to each other.

Lu Jiajia looked at Ning Changjiu's finger and said disdainfully: "I thought you had some new trick up your sleeve, but it's still just these pathetic, amateur moves?"

Ning Changjiu manifested different Daoist techniques into swords, forming layers of obstructions before him, resisting Lu Jiajia's sword intent.

He looked at Lu Jiajia's faintly smiling, cool face, saying nothing, his expression particularly focused.

Before long, Lu Jiajia's expression also grew serious.

She was still using the path